---
title: 📝 Documentation Guidelines
description: Learn how to contribute to the LibreChat documentation by following these guidelines.
weight: -9
---
# Documentation Contribution Guidelines
This document explains how to contribute to the LibreChat documentation by writing and formatting new documentation.
## New Documents
- Use ^^lowercase letters^^ and ^^underscores^^ to name new document files (e.g.: ==documentation_guidelines.md==).
- For new features, create new documentation and place it in the relevant folder/sub-folder under ==../docs==.
- If the feature adds new functionality, add it to the appropriate section in the main `README.md` and `../docs/index.md`.
- When creating a new document, **add it to the table of contents in the `index.md` file of the folder where your document is located.**
## Markdown Formatting
- Use `#`, `##`, and `###` for headings and subheadings.
- Use `#` for the document title.
- ❗ **Only one main title per document is allowed**
- Use `##` for the main sections of the document.
- Use `###` for the sub-sections within a section.
- Use `**` to make text **bold** and highlight important information (do not use in place of a heading).
- Use relative paths for links to other documents.
- You can use HTML to add additional features to a document.
- Highlight keystrokes with `+` (example: `++ctrl+alt+del++` 🟰 ++ctrl+alt+del++)
- 🌐 see the MKDocs Material documentation for more information: [MKDocs Material Reference](https://squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs-material/reference/)
## Document Metadata
- Add metadata in the header of your document following this format:
```yaml title="metadata example:"
---
title: 😊 Document Title
description: This description will be used in social cards and search engine results.
weight: 0
---
```
- `title:` Begin with an emoji representing your new document, followed by a descriptive title.
- `description:` A brief description of the document's content.
- `weight:` Setting the weight in the document metadata will influence its position in the table of contents. Lowest weights are placed first. If not set, it defaults to `0`. When multiple docs have the same weight, they are sorted alphabetically.
!!! warning "Important Notes"
- 🗃️ **Keep the documentation organized and structured**
- 🙅 Do not add unrelated information to an existing document. Create a new one if needed.
- 📌 Upload all assets (images, files) directly from GitHub when editing the document (see tip below).
??? tip "Upload Assets on GitHub"
!!! example "Example"
- Go to the LibreChat repository, find a conversation, and paste an image from your clipboard into the text input box. It will automatically be converted into a URL you can use in your document. (Then exit the page without actually posting the comment.😉)
Get the link from a text input box:
!!! example "Alternative method"
Upload directly from the web UI:
## Testing New Documents
- When adding new documents, it is important to test them locally using MkDocs to ensure correct formatting and proper organization in the table of contents: specifically in **index.md** and in the **left panel** of each category. Make sure the document position match in both.
### Setup MkDocs Locally
- Requirement: **Python 3.3** and later (on older versions you will need to install virtualenv)
#### Material for MkDocs Installation
- We are using MkDocs Material and multiple plugins. All of them are required to properly test new documentation.
```sh title="Install Requirements:"
python -m venv .venv
. .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r ./docs/src/requirements.txt
```
#### Running MkDocs
- Use this command to start MkDocs:
```sh title="Start MKDocs:"
mkdocs serve
```
- ✅ Look for any errors in the console logs and fix them whenever possible.
- 🌐 Access the locally running documentation website at `http://127.0.0.1:8000/`.
## Tips
!!! tip "Tips"
- You can check the code of this document to see how it works.
- You should run MkDocs locally to test more extensive documentation changes.
- You can ask GPT, Claude or any other AI for help with proofreading, syntax, and markdown formatting.
---
## Example of HTML image embedding:
```html title="HTML Code"
LibreChat
```
!!! quote "Result:"
LibreChat